Have you visited Cuba?

[Rooapalooza]

Has anyone on here been to Cuba? What are some recommendations for a 1 week holiday trip? Where to visit/what to do/what to not do in particular. I'm interested particularly in nature and culture with less touristy sites if possible.
I'm extremely low maintenance about accommodations; somewhere to rest at night with a bathroom is perfect.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism...html?fid=9c6f05a4-a94a-4905-a91f-dd168df07602

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I haven't been there, but I just saw a video of some college students who went there to document what it's like living in a communist system. Apparently there are two Cubas: the fancy beautiful resort areas for people with money, and the poor Cuba where buildings are run down and people have to wait in long lines for basic necessities.

 

[Rooapalooza]

I haven't been there, but I just saw a video of some college students who went there to document what it's like living in a communist system. Apparently there are two Cubas: the fancy beautiful resort areas for people with money, and the poor Cuba where buildings are run down and people have to wait in long lines for basic necessities.

I saw that video, I think. I found it pretty uninformative and offensive, to be honest. My immediate thought was that if you want to culture shame, why not take some pictures of skid row in LA, or under most bridges in any urban area. Or go to some of the ghost towns in rural america, or dead manufacturing cities like Detroit. We've got our own problems.

Actually I went to Europe last year (I'd been about a decade ago) and the inequality there has gotten ridiculous too. Every city I go to now, in America and everywhere else, you have to step over the kiddos sleeping in the streets to get to the 'nice' areas. It's the same in my rural area but out here we have the poor corralled into jails or sleeping in their cars.

Anyway I usually drive to Mexico for medical and dental since it's unaffordable for me. I'm probably going to need longer stay so I thought I'd combine it with a vacation! I've heard Brazil is also very good. Obviously I'm in the beginning stages of researching making plans.

PS I'm pretty sure the lack of basic necessities is because of harsh sanctions, for Cuba at least, but I don't know all about that. My real point is that everywhere in the world is two different places for the rich and the poor.

PPS I don't mean to get political. I'm mostly just curious about if people have been to Cuba, in particular for medical tourism.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I saw that video, I think. I found it pretty uninformative and offensive, to be honest..

I was put off by it too. That's why I didn't go looking for it to post it. If they had just done their job and documented what they saw instead of sitting around a table and trying to appear so cool and relevant, it would have been much better. The gas line and store shelves were pretty interesting and revealing, though. I wish the whole video would have been of stuff like that.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

PS I'm pretty sure the lack of basic necessities is because of harsh sanctions, for Cuba at least, but I don't know all about that.

Sanctions certainly have some effect, but Cuba really doesn't have any resources to pay for its communist system, except tourism and doctors, so naturally there's going to be shortages and not much variety. When Russia had money they got a lot of aid from them, but not now. They subcontract doctors to other countries by the thousands, charge high prices for their services, and then skim off most of the money and pay the doctors a pittance, but more than they'd receive in Cuba. I read that that's really pissing off Cuban doctors in Brazil.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

PPS I don't mean to get political. I'm mostly just curious about if people have been to Cuba, in particular for medical tourism.

I'd like to know more about that too. There's some famous guy I just read about, last name Peterson (can't remember first name), who is in Russia getting medical treatment for a condition caused by medical treatment he received in Canada, I believe, because Russian doctors aren't captives of the pharmaceutical industry like Western medical practice is.

Good luck with your plans. Report back if you can to let us know how it worked out.